How do you say ‘thank you’ in Japanese?

Look in any dictionary and you’ll find the phrase ‘arigatō’ （ありがとう), or ‘arigatō gozaimasu’ （ありがとうございます）. So, simple. Problem solved. It’s like saying ‘cat’ is ‘neko’ (猫), or ‘book’ is ‘hon’ （本）: there is a clear and well-defined correspondence. Isn’t there?

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